U.S. Pat. No. 5,316,365 granted to Howard W. Kuhlman and Jeffrey K. Joyner May 31, 1994 discloses a sliding vehicle door for a passenger van. The sliding door is supported and guided by an upper track, a center track and a lower track. An upper roller assembly is attached to an upper forward corner of the door and runs in the upper track which is at the top of the side door opening. A lower roller assembly is attached to the lower forward corner of the door and runs in the lower track which is at the bottom of the side door opening. A hinge and roller assembly is pivotally attached to the middle rear portion of the door and runs in the center track which is in the rear side panel of the van.
In the past, sliding doors for vans have been equipped with electrical connectors at the leading door edge that contact a cooperating electrical connector in the door jamb when the sliding door is closed. This arrangement provides electrical power to electrical components that are mounted on the sliding door when the sliding door is closed. However, the electrical components do not have any electrical power source when the sliding door is even partially opened.
Consequently, the function and types of electrical components that can be mounted on the sliding door is very limited.